Ahir Bhairav

Ahir Bhairav is a Hindustani classical raga. It is a mixture of Bhairav and the ancient but now rare raga Ahiri or Abhiri,[1] or perhaps a mixture of Bhairav and Kafi.[2]

Theory

Arohana and avarohana

Arohana

S r G m P D n S'

Avarohana

S' n D P m G r S

Key:
S, R, G, m, P, D: shuddha (natural);
r, g, d, n : komal (flat);
M: teevra (sharp)

Pa and Sa are sometimes avoided in ascending [Arohan].. The descend can be direct, but is often expressed as S' n D P m, G m Gr ~ S with a slight oscillation on komal re to express the character of Bhairav [1]

Vadi and samavadi

Vadi
ma
Samavadi
Sa
But Ga, Pa and Dha

Pakad or Chalan

S, r G m, G m r, ṇ Ḍ, ṇ r S

| komal Ni, shuddha Dha, komal Ni, komal Re, Sa | is the most characteristic run, where the Ni and Dha belong to the lower octave and the Re and Sa are from the middle octave. There is typically some andolan/oscillation at the flattened second (komal Re).

Organization and relationships

Also there may be impressions of Kafi, the image of Ahir Bhairav is easily maintained with the characteristic passage ṇ Ḍ ṇ/r~ S [1] Specially the characteristic Bhairav andolan (oscillation) on komal re. Sometimes shuddha Ni is used in the lower octave to emphazise the Bhairav character.[3]

The Carnatic music equivalent to this raga is Chakravakam.

Related ragas:

Thaat: Bhairav

Behavior

Ahir Bhairav is typical uttarang raga, which means emphasis is on the upper tetrachord.

Samay (Time)

The second Prahr of the morning, around 6 AM - 9 AM.

Historical Information

Important Recordings

Nikhil Banerjee, Raga Ahir Bhairav. Multitone Records, UK Limited, 1995. LP. (Available on iTunes.)

Ravi Shankar, Three Classical Ragas. HMV, 1957. LP.

Wasif-ud-din Dagar, Chalo sakhi braj raje. Alap and Composition in Dhamar. Music Today. A97015. Cassette.[4]

Film Songs based on Ahir bhairav

Carnatic music

Chakravakam, the 16th Melakarta raga of Carnatic music, which is a sampurna scale (all seven notes in ascending and descending scale), closely resembles Ahir Bhairav.[5] However, in the modern times Ahir Bhairav raga has been used in a few Carnatic music compositions and many South Indian film songs as well.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Bor 1999
  2. ↑ Kaufmann 1968, p.250
  3. ↑ Kaufmann 1968, p.251
  4. ↑ Bagchee 1998
  5. ↑ Raganidhi by P. Subba Rao, Pub. 1964, The Music Academy of Madras

Literature

(most) entries due to:

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